Reece (Stud Ranch)

“So fucked uuuu-ppp,” Olivia sing-songed, reaching for her margarita glass and sucking loudly on the neon green straw.

Ruth narrowed her eyes at her friend. “I’m sorry, what were your aspirations in high school? Pretty sure all you wanted to do was be a roadie for your college boyfriend, what was his name? Spike?”

Olivia sighed and sat back against the booth. “Spike. God, I haven’t thought about him in forever. I wonder what the hell he’s up to these days.”

“Dear God, save us all,” Ruth muttered. “Where was I?”

“Your dad was talking bullshit about you getting married so you could have access to your own inheritance like you’re back in Jane Austen’s time,” I supplied.

Olivia pointed at me. “I like her.”

Ruth grinned. “Right? She cussed out Trent the first time she met him. She’s good people.”

Okay, I was glowing a little inside. I hadn’t had friends in… well, a really long time.

“Anyway, when we first started dating, Trent seemed like a good guy. Not a great guy or anything, but nice enough.”

“Except all he wanted was to get in your pants.”

Ruth shrugged. “I’d never had a boyfriend before. I thought that’s what all boys wanted.”

“Well…” Olivia said.

Ruth shook her head though. “No, there are good guys out there, I believe it still. They just don’t live around here.”

I bit my lip, thinking about Reece. Was he a good guy? He hadn’t pressed to ‘get in my pants’ since that first time, and even then, I was the one doing most of the pressing.

“Anyway, then Mom died and Dad went off the rails, and Trent was… there. Dad liked Trent and he’d always hated guys I brought around before. I didn’t find out till later that he was already getting in debt and he’d hoped Trent’s dad would buy us out. So I started sleeping with Trent and trying to pretend everything was fine.” Her lips twisted and she took a long drink of her margarita.

“Until?” I asked, because obviously there was an until coming.

Olivia finished for her. “Until we learned what an asshole he was behind that façade of his. He was cheating on her almost from the beginning. And when she found out, he tried to blame her.”

“He asked what he was supposed to do,” Ruth said with a bitter scoff, “since I wouldn’t put out for two months when we’d started dating. What about after that? I asked. When we did start having sex? Why had he kept up sleeping around? Not just with one girl, either. He’d slept with a bunch of them. And everyone knew but me.”

“I didn’t know either,” Olivia said. “And I told you as soon as I learned.”

“You did, babe. You’re the best.” She leaned over the table and hugged Olivia, only just nearly missing getting a shirtful of fajita, sour cream, and guacamole. I pulled the platter out of the way just in time. “Always looking out for me.”

“Sisters for life. Always.”

Looking at the two of them, my chest squeezed. I’d always wanted that kind of friendship. Family. People, I’d always just wanted people who’d be there for me.

Maybe when I got to Austin. Maybe I could finally start to build a little tribe for myself. Found family, that was what they called it, right? Or was that just another dream, something other people were able to have, but not me. Maybe I just wasn’t built for it.

When Ruth pulled back, she looked at me. “Even then, that bastard still tried to turn it around on me. He said I had unrealistic expectations and that this was what all guys were really like and it was better I get used to it now.”

She huffed out a laugh. “It just never even occurred to him with his giant ego that I wouldn’t be okay with that and that I’d break up with him.”

“Yeah, no,” I murmured. “Guys like that don’t do well with rejection.”

“Oh, so you know the type?”

I nodded. “Really well, actually. They’re fine until you challenge them, then all hell breaks loose.”

She nodded, frowning. “Yeah, exactly like that.”

“Well, here’s to cutting all the douchebags out of our lives, ladies!” Olivia raised her almost-empty margarita glass. “Huzzah!”

“Down with the douchebags!” Ruth lifted her glass.

I didn’t have anything else, so I lifted my water glass and said, “Don’t let the bastards get you down!”

We all clinked our glasses together and laughed, Olivia letting out a whoop for emphasis.

I drove home since Ruth and Olivia had both ordered second margaritas. I hadn’t laughed so much in… well, years.

It felt good. Really, really good.

But as soon as I saw Jeremiah and Reece waiting for us in the driveway, both with their arms crossed over their chests and identical frowns on their identical faces, I knew something was wrong.

And I felt immediately stupid for not being on alert. Because anytime things were going too well, didn’t I know that meant everything was about to turn to shit?